Carlos Marin, part of the pop-opera quartet Il Divo, died Sunday at age 53, his bandmates announced.
"He will be missed by his friends, family and fans. There wiIl never be another voice or spirit like Carlos," the remaining members wrote.
"For 17 years the four of us have been on this incredible journey of Il Divo together, and we will miss our dear friend. We hope and pray that his beautiful soul will rest in peace."
Details of Marin's are unclear, but the band announced just days earlier that he had been hospitalized. In early December, Il Divo postponed their winter U.K. tour "due to illness."
Il Divo, made up of Marin, David Miller, Sebastien Izambard and Urs Buhler, was put together by Simon Cowell in 2003 after a yearslong search for his version of The Three Tenors (Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti).
Since then, the band has put out 10 studio albums and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
Before joining the group, Marin had released several solo albums and starred in musical productions of "Les Miserables," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Grease."
